Appeal or not appeal?
solitarygirl
Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
Lovely to meet everyone here. I have often visited this site and found the advice invaluable.
I suffer from anxiety and agoraphobia which are very debilitating. I had a PIP home visit assessment. After which I was awarded 0 points for both care and mobility. Many lies and lots of contradictory statements. I did the mandatory reassessment and was successful I am glad to say. With standard care and standard mobility. However I hoped to be awarded enhanced mobility, for I am unable to undertake a familiar or unfamiliar journey without assistance. This is where the rules (due to the court hearing) are somewhat odd at best and ridiculous at worst. You can be awarded 10 points (like I have) for not being able to go out due to overwhelming psychological distress but 12 points if you can go out with assistance! So you actually, in many ways, get awarded more points for being less disabled (it seems to me). But I do have to go out sometimes, even though avoidance is obviously what I do, and I always have to have someone with me.
I have been told that if I try for an appeal, my current award of 10 points is based on a decision that on the majority of days I cannot reliably leave my house, to meet the criteria for the 12 points, I will have to state that on the majority of days I can, in fact, leave my house but cannot then follow a route to a destination. This means that I will have to give up the 10 points and the mobility award that I already have in order to meet the criteria for the 12 points. This seems like madness, for I always have to have someone with me for a lot of support for any routes.
I read here that someone was successful with a paper based appeal but I am very concerned of what I am risking, not to mention losing the care component that is greatly needed and the extra severe disability premium that I have been awarded as a result. I know at a tribunal they look at the whole award. I also do know they warn you if you are at risk of losing either component before you get to the tribunal.
I have had to fight to get where I am with much anxiety and distress and also feeling humiliated that I even have to ask for this. It does nothing for my feelings of self worth to be incapacitated and disabled in this way, as I am sure many here can empathise with.
I don't know whether I should risk taking this further?
I suffer from anxiety and agoraphobia which are very debilitating. I had a PIP home visit assessment. After which I was awarded 0 points for both care and mobility. Many lies and lots of contradictory statements. I did the mandatory reassessment and was successful I am glad to say. With standard care and standard mobility. However I hoped to be awarded enhanced mobility, for I am unable to undertake a familiar or unfamiliar journey without assistance. This is where the rules (due to the court hearing) are somewhat odd at best and ridiculous at worst. You can be awarded 10 points (like I have) for not being able to go out due to overwhelming psychological distress but 12 points if you can go out with assistance! So you actually, in many ways, get awarded more points for being less disabled (it seems to me). But I do have to go out sometimes, even though avoidance is obviously what I do, and I always have to have someone with me.
I have been told that if I try for an appeal, my current award of 10 points is based on a decision that on the majority of days I cannot reliably leave my house, to meet the criteria for the 12 points, I will have to state that on the majority of days I can, in fact, leave my house but cannot then follow a route to a destination. This means that I will have to give up the 10 points and the mobility award that I already have in order to meet the criteria for the 12 points. This seems like madness, for I always have to have someone with me for a lot of support for any routes.
I read here that someone was successful with a paper based appeal but I am very concerned of what I am risking, not to mention losing the care component that is greatly needed and the extra severe disability premium that I have been awarded as a result. I know at a tribunal they look at the whole award. I also do know they warn you if you are at risk of losing either component before you get to the tribunal.
I have had to fight to get where I am with much anxiety and distress and also feeling humiliated that I even have to ask for this. It does nothing for my feelings of self worth to be incapacitated and disabled in this way, as I am sure many here can empathise with.
I don't know whether I should risk taking this further?
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Comments
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Hi and welcomeWell done on getting an award with an MR, few people do.How long is your award for ?It seems to me that on the majority of days you cannot undertake any journey without another person with you. If you don't have a person .with you, you cannot undertake any journey. So both statements are correctOnly you can decide whether to appeal0
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Thank you. The award is for three years.
Yes, both statements are true and would be for most people who suffer from agoraphobia (unless they were completely housebound).
But my question relates more to risk. I am not sure on the risks of going to a tribunal with regards to my award for both the care and mobility component. To make a decision, you need to know the risks.0 -
Hi @solitarygirl, and a warm welcome to the community!
Thanks for sharing this with us. As CR says, only you can make the final call, but hopefully our community will be able to offer some guidance and share their thoughts. Please do keep us updated and let us know what you decide, and we'll advise where we can!0 -
With any appeal there is a risk of loosing some or all of your award. The MR recognised that you have a valid claim but awarded you the minimum, it maybe that the tribunal will see the full picture with regard to need another person with you to enable you to go out
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@CockneyRebel
Hi, been reading the above thread, and I am away to write my MR report this week asking them to reconsider. I too have issues and worried I could lose part of my husbands award, feeling confident tho in challenging our report, wish me luck haha
rosie0 -
Face to face with who? Sorry, don't know what you mean.0
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Welfare rights or law centre is a good place to start.
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